ABSTRACT

Along with Why I Am Not a Christian, this essay must rank as the most articulate example of Russell's famed atheism. It is also one of the most notorious. Used as evidence in a 1940 court case in which Russell was declared unfit to teach college-level philosophy, What I Believe was to become one of his most defining works. The ideas contained within were and are controversial, contentious and - to the religious - downright blasphemous. A remarkable work, it remains the best concise introduction to Russell's thought.

chapter 1|8 pages

Nature and Man

chapter 2|8 pages

The Good Life

chapter 3|10 pages

Moral Rules

chapter 4|5 pages

Salvation

Individual and social

chapter 5|11 pages

Science and Happiness